Congratulations! LOOOOVE the sound. One of the most intoxicating exhaust notes short of a full howl V12. How interesting you went from an S5 to a Ghibli. My sister is currently cross-shopping the S5, XF and Ghibli. I know that someone requested it earlier, but if you could offer us a comparison of your S5 owvnership experience vs the brief time you've had your Maserati, we would be quite interested to hear your 1st hand experience.

Ok, here is my full write-up and answer to the questions you guys have asked. It’s a bit long, so I’m breaking it out into separate sections.

Other cars considered
After the S5, I first looked at the Audi A7 family. I think it’s a great looking car, good mix of practical and fun, and I had enjoyed the Audi ownership experience. The dealership only had an A7 prepped when I went for the test drive, but I probably would have bought an S7 had I gone this route. The RS7 also just came out, but at 105k base, it is above my comfortable price range. While I liked the car a lot, it didn’t totally wow me, so I decided to wait and check out some other cars.

I also considered the Mercedes CLS550. Also really nice looking, well made, standard AWD, and tons of great comfort, convenience, and tech features. I did not test drive it but did sit in it at a dealership. Again a great car, but did not get any wow factor the way I did when I first drove the S5 in 2008.

I browsed online, but did not go to see in person, pre-owned Bentley Continental GTs. With the depreciation of that car, you can get a very nice one for $100k and a bit older model for $80k, which seems like a lot of car for the money. But ultimately the outdated tech and poor gas mileage led me to drop it from my list. The new V8 model could be a good choice for me in a few years, once the prices for the pre-owned ones come down.

I test drove both new and pre-owned Audi R8 V8s. The used ones were around $95k and the new ones were more in the $130k range, which I considered splurging on, but decided it was too impractical to have as my only vehicle. I was happy about this decision driving back from my parents’ place after Christmas this year, with the whole trunk and some of the back seat loaded up with presents and luggage that never would have fit in the R8. But otherwise that is an amazing vehicle, and if I’m in a position in the future to have a second car, the R8 could be a great one. But given the lack of storage space it would not work as an only car for me.

The last vehicle I looked at was the Range Rover Evoque. I like the looks of the exterior of the car, and it’s AWD. Even fully spec’ed up it was well below my budget. When I went to see one in person I did not like the interior at all - too small, and lower quality materials. People might say that the larger Range Rovers would be a better comparison since they are closer to the same price of the above vehicles, but I did not want an SUV that big.

Ordering the car
The two variants of the Ghibli available in the US are the standard, non-AWD 330 hp V6, and the S Q4, which is AWD and has 404 hp. I need AWD so the S Q4 was the one for me. I ordered back in August, so there was plenty of time to put in a custom order before production began. I chose:
-grigio metallo (metallic gray) over black leather
-radica open-pore matte finish wood
-red painted brake calipers
-19” Proteo Sport wheels
-premium sound system (between base system and super high-end Bower&Wilkins system)
-premium package (rain sensor, parking sensors, automatic seat entry/exit adjustment, power adjustable foot pedals, remote start)

The car arrived in the US at the end of November and I picked it up in early December. The dealer said it was only the third Ghibli delivered in Manhattan, and that the vast majority of orders so far have been for the S Q4.

Driving impressions
The car is great to drive. It is heavy at ~4200 lbs, but feels lighter than the S5, which is ~3800 lbs. Something about the suspension and steering make it both effortless and precise to control on the road. It kind of feels similar to the R8, of all the cars I test drove. The S5 felt planted, powerful, and substantial, while the Ghibli feels nimble and light. You get a lot of feedback and easy control.

The way it accelerates is quite different from the S5 also. There has been some debate on the Ghibli forums over whether there is turbo lag, whether it’s the way the engine is tuned, or something else, but there is definitely a non-linearity to the power delivery. If you mash the pedal, the car picks up some speed, and maybe 0.5-1 second later it just takes off. It pushes you back into the seat more than the S5. However, you need to wait a short time for that to happen. I guess that is just the way the engine is, and it doesn’t bother me, but some other people do not like it.

Convenience and usability
There are a lot of nice features that make this car fun and easy to live with. The adjustable pedals are a neat feature that I haven’t had on my other car - just one more thing you can change to get to that perfect driving position. I like that the seats slide automatically for you to get in/out. The rearview mirrors fold in although I think you need to do this manually when you park. They fold back out automatically once you start driving. There are USB and power plugs in both the front and rear center storage bins, which is great.

The main screen is 8.4” and is the same one as the Chrysler 300. Again some people are annoyed by this, but it doesn’t bother me. These days the Bugatti Veyron shares parts with the Audi A4. That’s just the nature of the automotive industry now. But some “purists” are annoyed by it. The nav works well, does lane guidance, has diagrams of most exits and intersections on major highways, and does 3D building models in NYC (I’m sure other major cities too). Parking sensors make noise from the speaker closest to the corner that caused the warning, which is also a nice convenience I haven’t seen before. So if the object is right in front of you, the front speakers will beep, if it’s behind the car on the right, the rear passenger speakers will beep, etc. Clever idea.

Visibility is not the best. The rear window is small and high, so you rely on the camera a lot when backing up. And given the shape of the front of the car (hood sloping down into grill, corners angled sharply around fenders) it is a bit hard to know exactly where the edges of the car are. So I really think the parking sensors are a key feature to get.

Interior
I am very pleased with the leather, carpet, gauges, and electronics. Especially the seat and steering wheel leather are plush and well-sewn. The dash is a matte plastic unless you get an expensive leather upgrade, so that’s what I have. If I could have added one extra thing it probably would be that upgrade to get the full leather dash and console, but the price was pretty exorbitant from what I remember. You can also do a two-tone leather dash for even more money, which I think would look very distinctive, but maybe a bit over the top for me.

The key fob is machined aluminum and looks nice and feels heavy. I like the remote start function. The documentation comes in a nice black leather pocket with beige leather piping - very classy.

Problems
The passenger seat heater turns off by itself after about 5 minutes, and if you use it long enough, eventually won’t turn on at all. I plan to ask the dealer to look at this soon. Sometimes the remote start doesn’t work, saying that a door is open so it can’t initiate the remote ignition, even when all doors are closed. Another problem for the dealer to look at.

Conculsion
I’m very happy with the car so far. It gets a lot of looks and comments, which I wasn’t really expecting, since it’s a sedan, in a pretty standard color scheme, and this city is full of high-end cars. But it’s nice that people are enthusiastic about it. I look forward to getting more comfortable with the way the car handles and drives, since the first few weeks are always sort of an adjustment period. Thanks for your comments and I hope the write-up was helpful and interesting!

Grand review! This car has def brought Maserati into the modern age with all this technology and new powertrains. I didn't notice, did your car come with a Blind Spot Monitor? Interesting about the passenger seat heater, if it was just five minutes I'd say it was a setting, but if it's working intermittently that and the remote start, def take it back to the dealer. Perhaps some teething problems with the Ghibli, hope they get fixed for you soon. How is the Maserati Dealership Experience?

Ok, here is my full write-up and answer to the questions you guys have asked. Itís a bit long, so Iím breaking it out into separate sections.

Other cars considered
After the S5, I first looked at the Audi A7 family. I think itís a great looking car, good mix of practical and fun, and I had enjoyed the Audi ownership experience. The dealership only had an A7 prepped when I went for the test drive, but I probably would have bought an S7 had I gone this route. The RS7 also just came out, but at 105k base, it is above my comfortable price range. While I liked the car a lot, it didnít totally wow me, so I decided to wait and check out some other cars.

I also considered the Mercedes CLS550. Also really nice looking, well made, standard AWD, and tons of great comfort, convenience, and tech features. I did not test drive it but did sit in it at a dealership. Again a great car, but did not get any wow factor the way I did when I first drove the S5 in 2008.

I browsed online, but did not go to see in person, pre-owned Bentley Continental GTs. With the depreciation of that car, you can get a very nice one for $100k and a bit older model for $80k, which seems like a lot of car for the money. But ultimately the outdated tech and poor gas mileage led me to drop it from my list. The new V8 model could be a good choice for me in a few years, once the prices for the pre-owned ones come down.

I test drove both new and pre-owned Audi R8 V8s. The used ones were around $95k and the new ones were more in the $130k range, which I considered splurging on, but decided it was too impractical to have as my only vehicle. I was happy about this decision driving back from my parentsí place after Christmas this year, with the whole trunk and some of the back seat loaded up with presents and luggage that never would have fit in the R8. But otherwise that is an amazing vehicle, and if Iím in a position in the future to have a second car, the R8 could be a great one. But given the lack of storage space it would not work as an only car for me.

The last vehicle I looked at was the Range Rover Evoque. I like the looks of the exterior of the car, and itís AWD. Even fully specíed up it was well below my budget. When I went to see one in person I did not like the interior at all - too small, and lower quality materials. People might say that the larger Range Rovers would be a better comparison since they are closer to the same price of the above vehicles, but I did not want an SUV that big.